month in review (resolutions, goals, and life updates)

Somehow, the month of January is almost over. To be honest, this month is always a strange sort of transitional period. The magic of the holiday season is behind us and the year ahead is overloaded with unknowns. It can take a bit of time to adjust to it all. For me, moments in January were slow, still, and full of leftover seasonal magic...and other moments were stressful, busy, and a little too much. Since tomorrow marks the start of the second month of the year (Hello February and Valentine's Day decorations), I wanted to take a bit of time to check in, reflect, and share some of my resolutions for the year. 

As I mentioned, this month had some slower moments (watching Netflix shows before bed and reading cozy mystery novels) but also had some stressful moments as the weeks went on (at times, it felt impossible to find time for the things I wanted to do and the things I needed to do). However, this month also had some scattered social interactions. I have always been an introvert and do not necessarily love to leave the house. This was made worse thanks to the pandemic. (Now there are very real risks to consider.) I am just a cozy homebody who likes lots of time alone! That being said, one of my New Year's Resolutions was to be more open to different experiences. Even though I would prefer to stay inside with my husband and watch TV...I know it is good for me to see people and do things from time to time. This month, I went to the movies a handful of times with my oldest friend and even invited my closest friend to hang out. Yes, I initiated a social interaction. It may not sound all that interesting, but honestly, those were steps for me. I am trying to get out of my comfort zone just a little. 

Another resolution on my list has to do with standards. I want to make sure that in 2023, my standards are not just high for myself but for the people in my life. I don't want to settle for scraps of anything anymore. I don't want to ignore red flags. That has led to some difficult decisions, but ultimately, I feel better knowing that the people in my life are compassionate, caring, loving human beings who make the world a better place. This month, I have also been focused on writing my book. This is something that I have been working on for many years, but have struggled to complete, because there never seems to be enough time. I've started to dedicate small portions of time to my book every other day. So far, this approach has been really beneficial. My goal is to have the rough draft completed (finally) by the end of the year. I feel optimistic about this. 

On another note...the month of January has also been full of beauty. I was gifted lots of fabulous makeup over the holiday season. It's been really fun testing and trying different products. It has also been enjoyable to use existing items in my makeup collection in new ways. My hope is that this year will be full of beauty related posts that you all will enjoy. Fingers crossed. 

Do you have any New Year's Resolutions? How did the month of January treat you?